Questions and Doubts
1204 Words
Joshua blinked. “Come again?”
Xavier drummed the wheel. “Think about it. You’re biologically a Gregory. Which means you’re entitled to… certain things. Inheritance. Voting shares in companies. Property rights. Stuff other people might want kept under wraps.”
Joshua stared at him. “Are you telling me someone might try to kill me because of… voting shares?”
Xavier grinned. “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds dramatic. But yes.”
Joshua’s jaw dropped. “That’s insane.”
Xavier leaned back against the seat. “You’re right. It is insane. But that’s our life. Always has been.”
Joshua swallowed hard.
Xavier added softly, “But hey. At least you’ve got me.”
Joshua rolled his eyes. “Great. A brother who wears hoodies to billion-dollar rescue missions.”
Xavier gave him a mock salute. “Glad to be of service.”
They drove a few more blocks. Joshua shifted in his seat, chewing his lip.
“Xavier… you said my parents have been looking for me all this time.”
“Yeah.”
“Did they… ever try to adopt another kid? Like… replace me?”
Xavier was silent for a moment, eyes fixed on the traffic. Then he said, “No. They never replaced you. They couldn’t. They tried to adopt a kid once, but Mom had a meltdown halfway through the paperwork. She couldn’t do it. She kept saying it’d feel like admitting you were gone forever.”
Joshua stared at the glove compartment, throat tight.
Xavier continued, voice gentle, “They kept your room the same. For years. Mom still went birthday shopping for you every year. Dad would write letters he never mailed. It… messed them up pretty bad.”
Joshua blinked hard, fighting a sudden sting in his eyes.
Xavier noticed and said quietly, “I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty. I just want you to know… you weren’t forgotten.”
Joshua exhaled shakily. “Great. Now I feel like an asshole for hating them already.”
Xavier smiled. “Give yourself a break. You’ve had a rough day.”
Joshua rubbed his temples. “So… they’re not gonna expect me to just… slot in and be the perfect son, right?”
Xavier laughed. “Hell no. Mom’s probably gonna cry the second she sees you. Dad’s gonna try to act cool. But nobody expects you to pretend the last eighteen years didn’t happen.”
Joshua bit his lip. “So… they’re not gonna kick me out if I… mess up?”
Xavier gave him a serious look. “Josh. You could light the penthouse on fire and they’d just buy you a new one.”
Joshua huffed out a surprised laugh. “Wow. That’s… a lot.”
Xavier grinned. “Welcome to the Gregorys.”
Joshua stared out the window as the car turned up Fifth Avenue, headed north.
“So… why didn’t you come sooner?” he whispered. “If you’ve known who I was for a while.”
Xavier’s jaw tightened. “Because we had to be sure. And because… there were people watching. If we’d gone barging in, we could’ve made things worse for you.”
Joshua shot him a look. “Worse than tonight?”
Xavier exhaled. “Point taken.”
Joshua stared at the skyline. “This feels unreal.”
Xavier’s voice softened. “I know.”
Joshua muttered, “I’m not even sure I want a new family.”
Xavier said gently, “Then don’t think of it as a new family. Think of it as… extra family. You don’t have to stop caring about Miles. Or the Rowlands, even. Nobody’s asking you to choose sides.”
Joshua blinked. “Feels like everyone’s been choosing sides my whole life.”
Xavier fell silent for a moment, then said, “Well, from now on… you’ve got someone on your side.”
Joshua glanced over, and for the first time, his gaze softened a fraction.
Xavier smirked. “Plus, you’re gonna love Mom’s cooking.”
Joshua gave a faint, incredulous laugh. “The Broadway star can cook?”
Xavier’s grin widened. “Better than any chef in Manhattan. Though don’t tell Dad that, or he’ll fire the private chef out of guilt.”
Joshua shook his head. “You people are nuts.”
“Yep,” Xavier said cheerfully. “And now you’re one of us.”
Joshua leaned his head against the window, exhausted but just a tiny bit less terrified.
“Whatever you say, Batmobile,” he murmured.
Xavier barked a laugh as the car rolled deeper into the Upper East Side, carrying them both toward the Gregory family’s secretive world.
Joshua leaned against the passenger window, watching rows of brownstones slip past in the darkness.
Even this far uptown, Manhattan pulsed with life, late-night dog walkers, black-suited doormen standing sentinel at gleaming glass doors, sleek cars sliding into valet stations.
It felt like the same city, yet everything was different.
He shifted in his seat, turning a narrowed stare on Xavier.
“Alright. Enough mystery. Prove it.”
Xavier raised an eyebrow. “Prove…?”
“That you’re my brother. That any of this is real.”
Xavier gave a slow, careful nod. “I figured we’d get here eventually.”
He flicked the car into the right lane and coasted toward the curb. The vehicle rolled to a gentle stop beside a block of elegant limestone buildings, their iron gates glowing softly under antique-style lanterns.
Xavier turned off the engine, plunging them into a hush broken only by distant traffic.
He twisted in his seat to face Joshua. “Okay. Fair enough. Gimme a sec.”
He reached behind his seat and pulled out a black canvas messenger bag.
Joshua eyed it warily. “You’re not about to show me a g*n, are you?”
Xavier cracked a grin. “Not unless you’re planning to start something.”
Joshua rolled his eyes. “You’re hilarious.”
Xavier flipped open the bag. Inside, neat folders and slim binders were arranged like surgical instruments. He dug out a manila folder and handed it across the center console.
“Knock yourself out.”
Joshua hesitated, then snatched it. He balanced it on his knees, heart hammering as he flipped it open.
The first page was a crisp DNA report, all sterile formatting and numbered markers.
At the top, in bold letters: PATERNITY MATCH – 99.9997%
Joshua stared at it, throat dry.
Xavier said quietly, “That’s you. Matched against Dad.”
Joshua turned the page. Another report, this one labeled MATERNITY MATCH – 99.9998%.
Joshua ran his thumb over his name printed near the top: Joshua Rowland Gregory.
He let out a hollow laugh. “Gregory. Jesus.”
Xavier’s voice stayed gentle. “That’s your real name.”
Joshua flipped another page and froze.
A photograph lay clipped to the report.
A woman in her twenties, laughing, arms around a baby swaddled in a pale blue blanket. The baby’s dark eyes stared solemnly at the camera. The woman’s face was heart-shaped, with high cheekbones, dark eyes, and a dimple that looked exactly like the one Joshua sometimes saw in his own mirror.
- Writer
